Burger to miss Bulls clash

Stormers centre Jean de Villiers will captain the Cape Town-based side against the Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.

Stormers centre Jean de Villiers will captain the Cape Town-based side in Friday's Super Rugby opener against the Bulls in Pretoria.

De Villiers will lead the team into battle in the absence of Schalk Burger (calf muscle injury), whilst there are first-ever Stormers Super Rugby starts for new recruits Jaco Taute, Elton Jantjies and Pat Cilliers.

Twenty-one-year-old centre Damian de Allende, who started in the 2012 Currie Cup Final, will get his first-ever taste of Super Rugby action, whilst, on the bench, Nizaam Carr (knee) and Dewaldt Duvenage (broken leg) make their returns are spending some time on the sidelines last year.

Reserve hooker Martin Bezuidenhout will be hoping for his first official game in a Stormers jersey after featuring in pre-season games against the Cheetahs and Boland, whilst Springbok lock Andries Bekker will play in his 95th Super Rugby match for the Stormers.